Numb Love
by AnimeGirl2258
Summary: The easiest way to walk through life is to be numb to everything, to never create bonds, to never worry for anyone other than yourself, and that's just what she was doing until she was met with a certain white haired investigator.
1. Chapter 1

Prolouge

She walked lazily on in the snow swinging her legs one in front of the other in an exaggerated way, her black leather boots trampling on the pavement as she went, cold blustery winds whipped her unevenly cut hair about, once the squall calmed her dirty blond locks settled, one side of the diagonal do hanging just below her jaw line the other just above her shoulder.

She was on her way to work not like she cared much though. She had been given a rule book which all investigators of CCG were expected to follow, one of those rules stated that workers shouldn't listen to music if they traveled to work by foot, this rule was stupid and the red splatter print headset that the girl adorned seemed to make that abundantly clear.

It was unbelievable that on her very first day in Tokyo she was expected to attend work! She wanted to see the sights and harass some locals for fun, but it looked like she would have to wait until later. She had been an investigator for several months then and would soon be promoted, however, she would've never guessed that to be the situation considering she had been transferred to the CCG's Tokyo branch because her co-workers at her previous branch couldn't handle her. It was all due to her being: 'unreliable', 'a poor listener', 'a bad teammate', 'vaguely maniacal', oh and lest we forget: 'causing her late partners death'. Whatever. It wasn't like she told a ghoul to sneak up on him! Then again she didn't really bother to warn her partner about the creature's approach either, she just watched as the thing crept up from behind, grabbed her partner, and took a chunk out of his neck. If her partner hadn't been scolding her at the time, then maybe she would've considered telling him to move.

Continuing her exaggerated steps as she entered the building she went to the front desk, the woman who sat behind said desk looked up to her curiously before standing.

"Hello there, are you here to see a relative? I'm afraid we don't allow visitors during work hours." She said happily, the angsty-looking teen before her merely raised an eyebrow before taking hold of the white plastic stick, which protruded from her mouth, and pulled it out making sure to have the sucker make a popping sound as it moved from between her lips. The teens grey eyes turned down, her red rimmed glasses catching the light as she did so, as she began to dig in her jacket pocket; when she removed her hand a mess of crinkled papers and change fell from inside her pocket. Without a word the teen handed the receptionist an ID card, the woman looked closely at the thing before looking back to the girl. "Raidon Namikawa." The woman read aloud and the teen nodded as she heard her name. "I-I see," she handed Raidon her ID card which the teen carelessly shoved into her pocket, feeling the plastic bend as she did so. "Forgive me it was my mistake!" The woman cried, Raidon merely twirled the stick of her sucker between her thumb and index finger.

"I was told to meet with an old guy." She said in a low tone, "Yukinori I think his name was."

"A-ah yes! I'm afraid he's out right now, but I can show you to the room where you'll be working if you like?" Her words ended with an upward inflection making her statement sound like a question, Raidon shook her head, her uneven locks swaying to and fro.

"I can find it myself if you gimme the room number." She placed the sour tasting sucker onto her tongue before holding it between her lips.

The room, the room, the room, cubicle two, cubicle two, cubicle two. She sighed as she began to dread the paperwork she was to fill out. Whatever. Opening a door into a short entrance way and then just around a corner were a small cluster of cubicles, three in a row in columns of two.

Once she came into full view she noticed two others already stationed at cubicle one and cubicle three, neither of the two appeared to be working, bickering more likely. A taller guy in a blue suit was standing with his back to her and spoke rather loudly, something about a promotion. The other worker seemed to have noticed her as soon as she came into view, he remained seated as he stared at her, Raidon responded to his staring as she always did the stares of judgmental people: she stared back. The boy was albino with beautiful red orbs which seemed to flicker with mischief as Raidon inspected him, stitches spiraled up his arm and loitered on his neck and face. The two stared each other down for a long moment, ultimately Raidon huffed as she broke the unspoken contest and approached the guy in the suit, she placed a rough tap on his shoulder to get his attention.

"You're in my way, might I suggest not blocking the pathway." She said jadedly, the guy turned to face her fully a look of curiosity expressed by way of both his eyes and tone.

"Who're you?"

"Who indeed. Move now." Raidon waved her hand horizontally and he slid out of her way, thrown off by her sudden appearance. She then took her seat between the two males whom of which had grown silent as they watched her remove her jacket revealing her white button up shirt which lacked sleeves and adorned a large red bow tie.

"Oh-ho! I like your bracelet!" The bleached haired boy exclaimed as he pointed to her wrist, which held a small chain with morbid charms dangling from it, skulls, coffins, tombstones. Raidon didn't bother to respond, compliments on material things weren't actual accolades to the person who owned them, those types of 'compliments' were actually nothing but subtle vanity reflecting as something civil. The boy giggled at her quietness as he rolled his desk chair closer to her. "I'm Juuzou Suzuya, what's your name, New-Girl-chan?"

"Raidon Namikawa." She answered quickly, then the guy in blue jumped in surprise.

"You're Raidon Namikawa?!" He cried in shock, she merely sighed as her head fell onto her desk with a rather loud thud.

"Obviously. I mean I just introduced myself after all. Why would you even ask that?" She heard the guy scoff at her rude response, she guessed that was why his tone was so vindictive when he spoke.

"Raidon's a really masculine name, so I thought you were gonna be a guy. That's why I'm surprised."

"Ehh? It's a guy's name really?" Juuzou questioned, "you sure about that Seido?"

"Of course I am!"

"Raidon means: thunder god. So yeah, it's a name meant for males." She propped her arms up on the desks surface as she once again removed the sucker from her mouth with a pop. "But it's not like it matters, I like my name so who cares if everyone who hears it expects me to be a dude. Get me?"

"Oh-ho! Where'd you get the lollipop from?!" Juuzou questioned as his crimson eyes brightened, Raidon then placed the candy back into her mouth before speaking.

"A little shop called: None of Your Business, you can find it on: Leave Me Alone Street, right next to: You're Sitting Too Close to Me Boulevard." She began to inspect the stack of papers which was sitting near the back corner of her cubicle, Juuzou giggled at her response which threw her off completely what sort of masochist laughs at such a rude reply?

"You're funny Namikawa-chan!" The albino exclaimed as he clapped his hands and moved his chair closer to her.

"Suzuya-kun! It was an insult! She was mocking you!" Seido pointed out with a stomp of his foot.

"I'd appreciate it if you called me by my first name. Also:" Raidon took hold of the corner of Juuzou's seat and gave it a push, which was just strong enough for him to roll away from her and end up at the edge of his cubicle.

"Why specifically your first name?" Seido questioned.

"Because it's like your calling me a God and I enjoy it very much. It factually states that I'm above you."

"That sure is arrogant of you~!" Juuzou exclaimed as he wheeled his way back to her side.

"Conceited, would be a better term for it." She responded quickly, "you're too close again." Juuzou only snickered as he began to spin around in his chair then a sigh came followed by an unfamiliar voice.

"Juuzou, are you giving the new girl a hard time?" As she looked from her work she saw a larger, middle aged, man standing just on the other side of Seido's cubicle.

"Ah~ Shinohara-san! Not at all! I'm just getting to know her!" The albino answered with a grin, Raidon responded by taking hold of one of the stitches on Juuzou's lip, she gave it a harsh enough tug for him to lean toward her reflexively as she kept hold of it.

"Not true, you're being annoying on purpose!" She growled lowly then she released the red twine, which she'd held between her index and thumb nails, watching as Juuzou's bottom lip sprung back to his face with a popping sound similar to the noise she made with her sucker. The boy placed his hand near the offended area all the while sneering at Raidon in an amused way.

"Now, now let's not over step our boundaries." Shinohara said as he put his hands up in an attempt to defuse the situation. "Namikawa-chan I'm Yukinori Shinohara, I'd like to speak with you for a moment if you can spare the time." Raidon simply stood from her desk, tugging her plaid skirt down, she felt her studded belt moved along with the fabric, and spoke as she approached the man.

"You can over step any boundary you want to ya know, so long as you've got the skill and strength to back it up." The man only gave her smile accompanied with a nervous laugh before leading her out.

Soon both Shinohara and Raidon sat in the refectory of CCG headquarters, both with a small plastic cup of coffee before them, Raidon only stared down at the dark liquid as she had yet to even touch the cup.

"Not thirsty?" Shinohara questioned.

"I don't like coffee." She stated, and Shinohara rubbed the back of his neck.

"If you would've told me that before I went to get it for you I would've brought back something else."

"You didn't ask me though." The man sighed as he realized that it really wouldn't be easy working with such a girl, it appeared that she would be just as much a handful as Juuzou. "Why am I supposed to meet with you anyway? I know all CCG's procedures so I don't need to go over that, is this about a partnership? I'd rather be on my own even though I know it's against company policy." Shinohara blinked a few times.

"Well, you're right about all that. But unfortunately it doesn't appear as though we've got any openings for a singular partner for you, so until there's an opening you'll be working with myself and my partner Juuzou, who you already met."

"Ugh, I'm gonna have to spend all my time with the annoying kid huh? That sucks." Her voice held absolutely no energy as she sunk down in her seat, however, Shinohara noticed her jaw tighten and then heard the crunch of the lollipop which she'd held in her mouth, signaling that she was actually quite angered by the news. "Hopefully you two are capable enough to save yourselves if you get into trouble, because I won't go out of my way to help you." She rested her index finger on the small plastic cup in front of her and began to lean the thing back and forth.

"Right, I've heard rumors about your lack of comradery. Don't worry about it, I'm sure you'll warm up to the idea of having a partner!" Shinohara's tone was reassuring as if Raidon was actually upset by her lack of team spirit, this made the girl stop completely as her dull eyes met Shinohara's, she moved her finger away from the cups rim and then swatted the beverage with her palm, causing the cup to fly off the table as coffee spilled onto the tabletops surface and began to spread. She then leaned forward never breaking eye contact with the older Investigator.

"That's what I think of your stupid partnership." Her tone was still bland as though she didn't really feel the emotion her words projected. She stood and walked away, leaving the stunned man to look from the spilled beverage to her retreating form, he really had his hands full didn't he?

"Wait up a second!" Shinohara called quickly as he hurried after his new underling, the unruly girl never changed pace as she lazily stepped onward. "It wasn't really necessary for you to make a mess like that." He stated simply, "but that's beside the point, I'm not done telling you about your new arrangements." The girl continued on.

"Clearly you can walk and talk at the same time so go ahead." She stated just as she removed the plastic stick from her mouth which then lacked the sour treat she'd been enjoying; she threw it into a nearby trashcan as they continued on.

"You really should show more respect to your superiors…" The man said with a sigh before tucking his hands in his pockets and strolling beside Raidon at the same pace. "It's about your living arrangements, I know you were told the CCG would take care of your move and we have so far, I'm sure there are movers at your new apartment right now but… Well… Here's the thing…"

"Spit it out already." She demanded cooly, he only sighed again.

"Look, I've seen your record and so I know that you're a phenomenal field investigator just by how many ghouls you've been able to defeat or capture, I also know that you've got the potential to be the best in the business… However, your record also showed your lack of teamwork and it was actually stated that you let your teammates die when you could've done something to prevent their deaths- "

"If you're not strong enough to save yourself then clearly you don't deserve to go on living." She interrupted coldly, Shinohara let out a low growl.

"We'll talk about your twisted mindset later. Anyway, the higher-ups really want you to learn how to work in a group and so, you've been assigned a roommate in the apartment complex the CCG owns." Raidon stopped, then turned to the older male.

"Don't. You dare. Tell me. That I have to live with. The annoying. Albino." She said as she put emphasis on every single word.

"… Alright then I won't, instead I'll tell you that: you have to live with Second Class Investigator Juuzou Suzuya." Shinohara gave her a nervy smile, "it's for your own good really."

"You don't even know me; so how could you possibly know what's good for me?" She questioned with a sigh.

"… Juuzou's really not a bad guy." He added, Raidon pinched the upper bridge of her nose just under her T-zone, she felt a headache coming on.

After filing report after report after report, Raidon stretched her arms over her head the idea of going in and filling out paper work was always a lot worse than actually doing it. At the end of the day she always knew that office work wasn't difficult, annoying and dull enough to make her want to blow her brains out sure! But not difficult.

"Raidon-chan~" Juuzou sang her name as she lowered her arms while turning to the male as he stood over her. "Are you done for the day?" He questioned, she nodded as she stood as well she noticed then that the boy was around her eye-level, he might've been an inch or so taller, she'd thought he would be shorter for some reason. "Then let's walk home together!" He exclaimed happily as he watched her put on her jacket.

"It's not like I really have choice right? Considering I don't know where the stupid apartment complex is and I literally have to live with you." He grinned at that as he bounced ahead of her.

"You have such a bad attitude!" He cheered, "you're such a mean girl!" He grinned sweetly, Raidon fell into step with him, each of the two investigators demonstrating their own bizarre way of walking.

"You smile too much for it to be plausible," Raidon replied, "you're a fake guy." She sighed as they exited the office and went out into the blistering cold, which made Raidon shiver. "Are you really not wearing a jacket?" She questioned as she looked on the eccentric male who beamed at her.

"Nope~ don't need one!" He exclaimed, "but look at you! Your shivering even with a jacket!"

"I shiver in seventy-degree weather, it's nothing new."

"Eh?! I don't think you're supposed to shiver when it's that warm out!"

"Tell that to my anatomy."

It seemed like a really, really, really long walk to the apartment. Raidon guessed it was because Juuzou wouldn't stop humming ridiculous tunes as they went on.

"If you don't stop with the humming I'll cut out your vocal cords." She threatened flatly, Juuzou laughed as he continued to sing. She wondered if he'd taken her threat as joke, it would be understandable considering her never changing tone, she always failed to emote what she felt inside. Oh well may as well move on.

Entering into their new apartment, the two were met with a rather large space, fully furnished thanks to CCG, which was littered with boxes of personal items belonging to the two. Raidon couldn't stand the sight, so she located her things and began to unpack immediately. There was only one bedroom in the apartment clearly the two were meant to share it. Raidon would hear nothing of it, she would sleep on the couch, after putting her clothes away in one of the two closets which were located in the singular bedroom.

"Shinohara-san said that we should share the room though." Juuzou stated with a tilt of his head.

"And we are, this closet and this dresser have my things in them while that closet and that dresser have yours. That's sharing." Juuzou giggled in such a girlie way that it made Raidon question his gender.

"That's not what he meant and you know it!" She turned to him, he was sitting on the large bed which was situated in the middle of the room. She leaned down so that her face was only inches from his.

"Are you really a boy?" She questioned causing Juuzou to blink a few times as he realized she was seriously inspecting him to try and figure it out.

"Well of course I am!" He exclaimed as small smile broke out on his face and he giggled once again. Raidon narrowed her eyes as she still doubted him, then suddenly Juuzou felt her hands push against his chest he looked down on them as they groped the area, but the shape, the form she'd expect to feel wasn't there, then she moved away from him.

"Hmm, I guess you really are a boy." She stated and Juuzou frowned at her.

"You couldn't have taken my word for it?"

"No."

"You're so rude~!" He said with a laugh.

"Well goodnight then." Raidon began to leave, Juuzou spoke as she did so causing her to pause.

"You know I'm supposed to report your cooperation to my being your roommate to Shinohara-san~" He sang as he began to roll around on the bed. "If I give you a bad report then you'll be punished~ maybe they'll transfer you again!" Man, she really didn't want to move again… Even if the place she was in then was less than desirable, she didn't want to move any farther. She turned back to him.

"What do you want from me?" She questioned as she tucked some of her uneven locks behind her ear.

"You're supposed to sleep in here, we're supposed to share the room, so that's what I want!" He answered happily.

"Why do you want that? It doesn't seem like it's just you following orders, then again that could be because of how stupidly you carry yourself." Juuzou sat up.

"Ah~ there's that attitude again! It's kinda because of the orders but mainly it's because it's fun to bother you!"

"Annoying albino." She mumbled as she approached the bed, standing before Juuzou with a frown she waved for him to move. He stayed completely still, his grin growing in width. Raidon pursed her lips in annoyance before leaning down and, once again, placing her hands on Juuzou's chest in order to push him to the other side of the bed. The boy cackled as he slid to the opposite side of the mattress then watched as Raidon laid down, pulling the covers over her head completely. How did things end up like that?


	2. Chapter 2

Troublesome

Every day for the past week Raidon would wake up with Juuzou, get ready with Juuzou, go to work with Juuzou, come home with Juuzou, eat dinner with Juuzou, go to sleep with Juuzou and then repeat the process. She. Hated. It. She could only take so much of one person! Let alone a person like him!

Another thing that happened… Every… Day… Was a small outing with both Shinohara and Juuzou, the group of three would go out for either lunch or dinner in an attempt to get Raidon to actually open up and speak with them normally… Or at least politely. Shinohara would ask her all sorts of prying questions which weren't included in her files: what was her childhood like? Why did she decided to become an investigator? Did she have any family? She never even bothered to respond to such quarries. Meanwhile Juuzou would ask questions of a different sort: what was her favorite color? Her favorite candy? Why was her hair so funny looking? Why did she rip up his drawings so frequently? Her answer to these types of questions were always the same.

"Because: shut up." She said as she toyed with the coffin charm dangling from her bracelet. After their latest attempt at trying to get something out of her, Shinohara sighed in such a way that told Raidon he was ready to give up.

"Why won't you answer any of our questions properly?" He asked with a deep frown, Raidon crossed her arms as she popped her chewing gum.

"Because I don't have to and it's none of your business." Juuzou began to clap happily.

"Oh-ho! That's the first relevant answer you've ever given! Good job Raidon-chan!"

"Shut up, I don't like your face and you're ugly too." She stated blandly, Juuzou chuckled.

"Ah~ that's a lie."

"How would you know?"

"Because you stare at me so often!"

"The only reason I stare at you is because you stare at me! You're the one who starts it!" She said matter-of-factly, Juuzou began to kick his feet back and forth under the table.

"But you still stare~!"

"Shinohara. If you don't get him away from me, and I mean now, I'll kill him."

"I'd like to see you try it!" Juuzou cheered, as he leaned onto the table. Raidon felt her brow crease as the only expression Juuzou had ever seen the girl make etched into her features.

"You wanna go, Albino Boy?" She questioned in a lack-luster tone as she to leaned forward. "Let's take this outside."

"Now, now, calm down you two!" Shinohara exclaimed with a nervy smile, "there's no use in fighting it'll only get the both of you into trouble." Juuzou was quick to pull back into his seat.

"Aw, Shinohara-san, it's all in good fun!" He exclaimed happily, he really didn't take her seriously at all did he?

"No it's not." Raidon stated, "so help me Juuzou Suzuya, if I see you losing a battle against a ghoul, I'll take the time to watch you die. And I'll make sure you see me there to, so that way you'll know I could help you if I wanted to and might've considered doing so if you weren't so annoying!" She warned lowly.

"Is that what you did to your previous teammates?" Shinohara questioned, Raidon leaned back in her seat making sure to keep eye contact with the man as she stayed silent.

Shinohara hung his head as he and his two underlings left their table, asking Raidon any simple question was like interrogating a criminal… Her relationship with Juuzou didn't seem to be improving either, well not for her anyway, Shinohara could tell that Juuzou genuinely enjoyed having Raidon around if only for entertainment, at least that was something. It wasn't enough though, he had to find a way to get the two to bond, but, how was he to do such a thing when Raidon wouldn't even open up enough to tell them her favorite color? He sighed tiredly as the trio stepped out of the café they'd inhabited, only to find that it was raining and they'd been caught without an umbrella. Shinohara guessed that what they were experiencing was simply a cloud burst so it wouldn't last for long. The three would have to wait under the restaurants awning for the rain to stop.

"Man, just our luck." Juuzou mumbled, he hated waiting on anything, even something like that. It wasn't like he had somewhere important to be, he was just going to head home with Raidon and it wasn't as though he really wanted to go back, no, he just wanted to get from point A to point B without having to wait. He glanced off to the side only to find that Raidon wasn't standing near him anymore, he scanned the area briefly before spotting the eccentric girl kneeling before the bushes which lined the café's front. "What're you looking at over there?" He questioned curiously as he came to look over the girl's shoulder, when he got close she stood and turned to him, holding a wet, shivering kitten in her hands. "Oh-ho! A kitty!" He exclaimed happily as he took a quick step closer to inspect the creature.

"It wanted my attention," Raidon said, earning a strange look from Shinohara. "It said: meow! Meow! Then when I came over it rubbed up against my boots." Her flat tone didn't suit her sweet face, especially when she was holding such a cute, vulnerable animal. "I'm keeping it." She stated.

"Ehhhh?!" Juuzou cried as he moved his hand away from the creature, "didn't you say something before about not saving someone who's in trouble because if they couldn't get out of it themselves then they're not worth it?"

"I did. But this isn't a someone, it's a cat. Animals are much better than people, who should rot."

"Erm, please don't say things like that Raidon-chan," Shinohara said, "especially when you're holding the cat."

"Can I name it?" Juuzou questioned in excitement.

"No. It's mine. You can't even touch it."

"Call it: Gin!" Juuzou ignored her comment, "since the cat's all white and Gin means silver."

"In that case I'll call it: Kin." She said with a frown, causing Juuzou to pout. She only decided on that name because it meant golden and was the opposite of silver. She didn't want Juuzou to get what he wanted.

"Gin~ Gin~" Juuzou sang as he rubbed the kitten's ears.

"It's Kin, don't confuse it."

"Shouldn't you check its gender?" Shinohara questioned, both Juuzou and Raidon looked to their superior.

"What for?" They questioned together, the two looked to each other and Juuzou chuckled.

"Never do that again." Raidon ordered as if he did it on purpose.

"I mean; you should know that cat's gender right?"

"I don't see why that's so important." Raidon stated, and Juuozu nodded in agreement.

"It doesn't matter if it's a girl or a boy." He concurred, Shinohara gawked at the two. They actually agreed on something! Finally, Sure it was something… Weird but still it was something at least! Shinohara found himself laughing at the fact, when his two underlings questioned him he kept quiet about his discovery, for fear that Raidon would throw the cat out in front of a car just to prove him wrong. He also noticed that she seemed to favor animals over people as Juuzou did, that gave the older investigator an idea for their next outing.

Both Juuzou and Raidon stopped by a Supermarket near their apartment, the cashier tried to tell them they couldn't bring animals into the establishment, of course the poor guy was completely shut down by Raidon who immediately told him to shut up. After buying cat food, litter, toy's, and some regular candy the duo left for home.

Kin was curled up on Raidon's stomach, the creature finally dry and warm underneath the heavy comforter, Raidon was completely submerged in the warmth of the bedding as well as she petted the small creature which purred lightly at her touch. Raidon jumped somewhat when she felt hands suddenly grab her ankles, then she heard Juuzou giggle as he had successfully spooked her. She only huffed angrily as Juuzou moved his hands away from her ankles and then lifted up the cover to peek at both Raidon and Kin, before joining the two in the warm darkness.

"Go away already." Raidon ordered.

"No~" He started to pet Gin, while propping his head up with his free hand, causing Raidon to move her hand away from the kitten.

"You're too close to me." She complained, as she could feel his breath on her forehead, and Juuzou chuckled before responding quietly.

"It's not my fault Gin's sleeping on your belly!"

"Kin!"

"Gin!"

"It's my cat!" Raidon exclaimed monotonously.

"You're supposed to share, Raidon-chan~!"

"What I say is mine is mine and I don't have to share it! Would you leave?"

"No~"

"I hate you."

"Liar~ lair~ laaaiiiirrrr~"

The small fur ball stood upright on Raidon's stomach, as it arched its back to stretch before burrowing out from under the comforter and leaving the suddenly noisy room.

"You scared it!" Raidon said with a groan as she crinkled her nose at Juuzou.

"Nuh-uh! Your horrible personality is what scared it away!" He grinned down on her and she was quick to kick Juuzou as hard as she could before quickly rolling on top of him, and pulling a knife which was hidden in the hem of her skirt. She put the cool metal against his throat as she readied herself to cut him open, but as she prepared to slide the knifes edge over his jugular, she hesitated and he shifted the odds in his favor.

Juuzou used the comforter to temporarily blind Raidon, just enough time to disarm her before she could regroup. Once she had cleared her vision Juuzou threw the knife off to the side and tackled Raidon, the two flew from the top of their bed to the end where they bounced off the mattress and onto the hardwood floor, the comforter landing beneath them. Juuzou's usually happy go-lucky beam had twisted into a malevolent grin as he hovered over Raidon.

"You don't seem so tough!" He exclaimed cheerily, "I don't know why everyone speaks so highly of your abilities!"

"I attacked you on impulse." Her words made Juuzou raise a curious brow. "You pissed me off, I attacked you, then as I was about to slit you open I remembered that if I killed you I could get transferred again so I hesitated, which gave you the opportunity to strike back. That's all."

"I think you're making excuses~!" He cackled.

"This is sexual harassment." Raidon's statement made Juuzou tilt his head to one side.

"How so?" He watched as her eyes moved downward, he blinked a few times before following her gaze, his left hand was gripping the cover just above her shoulder, his right was planted firmly on her breast. His reaction to the situation, of course, wasn't a normal one, then again neither was Raidon's, there was no blushing or stuttering or embarrassment of any kind on either of the oddball's parts, Raidon considered it as a sort of payback for her similar actions the week before.

"Waa! Raidon-chan your chest is all squishy!" He exclaimed as he removed his hand and sat up straight, she used her elbows to give her a small amount of leverage as she responded.

"All girls' chests are squishy like that. What did you think boobs felt like before?" Juuzou tilted his head upward.

"I never really thought about it until now."

"Get off me already. You scared Kin even more when you tackled me!" Raidon said as she got up, knocking Juuzou to the ground in the process.

"How do you know that?" He questioned with a giggle.

"I saw it run away when I hit the floor."

It took nearly thirty minutes for the two oddities to find the feline, which was hidden in the living room between the Tv stand and the wall.

After work the next day Shinohara took both Juuzou and Raidon to the Zoo, in the hopes that maybe his two underlings would start to get along better. However, that wasn't the case, Raidon had absolutely no interest in the Zoo whatsoever meanwhile Juuzou ran amuck as though he were a small child.

"Shinohara." Raidon's voice came from behind, he turned to her with a tired smile, the uneven haired girl only stared boredly at him.

"Yes, what is it? Find something you like?"

"No. I'd like to go back to the apartment now. Kin's been left alone all day today, and I'm sure it'll need more food by now along with a change in litter. Also there's a possibility that it may have electrocuted itself and I'd like to make sure that the powers still on so I can watch Tv tonight." Shinohara blinked.

"… I thought you cared about the kitten?" He questioned.

"Didn't I just say that I'd like to make sure it didn't kill itself?" She popped her chewing gum carelessly.

"Yeah… But usually when a pet owner worries about that stuff they take measures to avoid such an incident."

"If the stupid thing gets itself killed it's their own fault."

"… Right… Well, we'll be going in a bit. In the meantime, why don't you go look at the giraffes with Juuzou?"

"I'm not a child Shinohara." She turned away from him, "I'll be by the tigers." She stated as she left. So apparently she only liked cats… Well maybe… It was really hard to tell actually.

"Juuzou, we'll be going soon okay?" Shinohara said as he approached the white haired investigator, who turned to him.

"Okay~ Shinohara-san, I have a question!" He exclaimed as he hopped to his partner's side, Shinohara couldn't help but smile at the youngers exultant attitude.

"I'll answer it if I can." He stated.

"Is it true that all girls' boobs are squishy?" Shinohara nearly fell over from complete and utter shock, but, he somehow managed to keep himself upright.

"Wh-what?! Uh, where's this coming from?!" He sputtered, Juuzou knitted his short brows together as he cocked his head to one side.

"Last night I accidentally touched Raidon-chan's chest, and she said to me: all girls' boobs are squishy like hers. Is that true?"

"Gah, ugh… Erm." He cleared his throat. "This is not an appropriate question Juuzou." The older exclaimed as pink dusted his face.

"You don't know the answer then?"

"N-no I do it's just that- "

"Tell me~!" Juuzou began to bounce around his senior while repeating the words over and over.

"Alright, alright. What she told you is correct okay!" Shinohara answered as he groaned at the boy, who seemed awed by the response. "Now do me a favor would you? Never ask me a question like that ever again." Juuzou saluted Shinohara.

"Yes, Sir!" He exclaimed with a grin. What was up with that kid anyway?! Shinohara rubbed his temples as he was ready to distance himself from his underlings for the day.

"Raidon-chan!" Juuzou sang as he walked next to his roommate. "Where'd you get the ice-cream?"

"From a genie." She answered sarcastically as they passed by an ice cream stand.

"I want a bite!" Juuzou exclaimed.

"Keep your dirty mitts off my ice cream."

Shiniohara found himself sighing again as he watched his two underlings from behind, they were truly exhausting, Raidon especially. But as he looked on them he could see, even through all the bickering, a flicker of enjoyment hidden behind her emotionless grey eyes, he witnessed it every time he went out with the two, as did Juuzou. That was enough for Shinohara to allow these outings to continue for a while longer, but as the trio of investigators traveled on Shinohara wondered how often Juuzou may have witnessed Raidon's dull eyes betray her true emotions which were buried deep within her psyche. He then wondered if Raidon was even aware that she was feeling anything at all, or if she was simply trying to hide her emotions behind a stoic mask and a lifeless tone.

"Well, at any rate I'm sure he'll help her figure it out, in his own weird way." Shinohara mumbled.

"Hm? What was that Shinohara-san?" Juuzou questioned as both he and Raidon looked back to him.

"Oh, nothing."

"The, Old Guy's starting to talk to himself, they say the minds the first to go I bet he'll die soon." Raidon commented.

"Waaaa? Are you a fortune teller?!"

"Yes, and I see a mess in your future." She said as she took her chocolate ice cream and pushed it into Juuzou's face.

"I'm gonna get you for that one!" Juuzou exclaimed as he licked away some of the frozen dessert near his mouth.

Man those two were really troublesome.


	3. Chapter 3

Candy

Apparently Raidon's appearance wasn't enough to make her unapproachable, and the fact that she was the worst human being on earth didn't seem to matter to the group of men whom surrounded her. She was at work, just outside the room where her cubicle was, a group of four co-workers had approached her with snide comments about her body and such.

"You've got a real bad attitude don't ya?" One of the men questioned, "I like that! Why don't you come to the break room with us? We'll be sure to show you a good time." The harassment had only just begun and Raidon already had enough.

"Why don't you go hang yourself and do the world a favor. I mean it's not like you'll actually amount to anything useful, and I'm assuming from your behavior toward me that you do this sort of thing to women often. I believe the best thing you could do for the world is die, that way the low oxygen count won't be wasted on you." She pushed past the group easily enough, she very much enjoyed attacking people with words since it showed how weak the human ego truly was, guys like the ones presented to her were always the easiest types to get under their skin. A hand gripped her shoulder roughly as one of the men was about to retort with something she was guessing wasn't going to be very clever, Raidon took hold of the man's large wrist as she turned to face him with cold eyes. "I've got a hold of your wrist now, do you realize what a bad position you're in? How horribly I could wound you with just this? I've had no problem _letting_ previous co-workers die at the hands of ghouls, so it's safe for you to assume I've got no problem killing a few myself." The man standing before her saw in her dull grey eyes a sort of calm bloodlust that he'd never witnessed, he was about to back off when someone called out.

"Hey! What're you doing to Namikawa-chan?!" Seido Takizawa hurried over to the scene, "get out of here or I'll have no choice but to report you all!" He exclaimed loudly, the men hesitated for a moment but ultimately skulked off as they didn't wish to be fired from such a high paying career. Once Seido and Raidon were left to themselves in the vacant hall, he turned to her. "Are you alright? It's not the first time those guys have pulled something like this." Raidon silently stared at him for a long moment, she gave her gum a chomp before blowing a large bubble and allowing it to pop.

"I had the situation under control, you intervened for no reason. I'm only going to say this to you once, Takizawa: don't ever try to save me from anything, because I'll never do the same for you." How was it that whenever Seido looked at the girls face he completely forgot how cruel she was?

"Hey! I was only trying to help you out! You don't have to get all high and mighty about it!" Raidon was silent, he could tell just from looking at her that she didn't really care about anything he had to say. "Well, I think we can both agree that the world would be a better place without guys like that. I'll make sure to make them, no not just them, but every guy in the world who's like that, see the error of their ways!" He said as he gave a small fist pump, feeling a fire light in his stomach.

"Changing the world takes time, more time than most people have. Making a significant change in the world isn't instant like you seem to think it is. It's slow and methodical, exhausting and maddening, from what I can see, Investigator Takizawa, you'll never be able to make a significant impact on the world, simply because you don't have enough talent to do so before your life ends." Her tone was matter-of-fact, her expression bland another pop of her gum gave Seido the impression that she was horribly bored, as she usually appeared to be, even with her own opinions. She wasn't actually trying to be mean at the moment she was simply stating, what she thought to be, an obvious fact.

"You're a heartless monster." Seido stated in calm anger, "worse than a ghoul." He stomped off, his fists clenched tightly. What he said was something she had been told several times before, the comment never bothered her.

"Wooooaaaah!" She turned to find Juuzou sticking his head out of the door leading to their cubicles, "and I thought you were harsh with _me_! You really don't like Seido do you?" He giggled, Raidon approached the door, extending her hand which connected with Juuzou's shoulder, and pushed Juuzou back into the office space as she entered the room.

"Isn't it obvious? Why is it that every time I have a conversation with someone you always pop up? Are you stalking me?" She questioned as she approached her desk.

"Mmmm, is it stalking if I was ordered to keep an eye on you?"

"Employed stalking. Yes."

"Then yep! I'm stalking you~!"

"That's creepy on so many levels."

Once the two arrived home, Kin was awaiting their arrival desperate for some love and attention, Raidon passed the small kitten by easily as she approached its bowl to see if it needed to be filled again, while Juuzou was quick to administer playtime which he seemed to enjoy more so than the cat.

Raidon took the albino's distraction as an opportunity to eat all the candy she'd purchased not long before then, she wanted all of it to herself so that she could force Juuzou to eat something green, which was always quite amusing to watch him suffer through.

Sitting in their bedroom, the Tv turned on, she laid with her feet at the top of the bed kicking up and down slowly as she watched the television, without paying full attention to it, while eating the candy she'd snuck away.

The doorknob to their bedroom jiggled but didn't budge as she'd locked the door when she'd come in. _Knock, knock, knock._ She groaned as she knew that Juuzou was trying to come in.

"No one's home, please don't leave a message, ever." She called as she took another bite of the sweet caramel filled candy.

"Raidooooon-chaaaaaaan!" Juuzou whined, she could feel his pout through the door. "You took all the candy!"

"And it's delicious." She felt a smirk tugging on her lips as she continued to devour the sweets.

"Let me in already!" Juuzou cried, and then Raidon actually chuckled at his misery.

"No. Suffer a candy-less life!" Her monotone didn't match up with her mischievous words.

"WAAAAA! THAT'S SO CRUEL!" He cried in genuine distress, Raidon struggled to keep a cackle down. What was wrong with her? She'd never been so close to laughing before! It wasn't just that, Raidon had noticed that in the weeks she'd spent in Tokyo living with Juuzou, she'd been starting to feel a variety of things, which was by no means a good thing!

"Ah-ha!" Juuzou exclaimed as he jumped into their room through the window… _Through. The. Window_! Which he had broken in the process of jumping through the glass, a horribly cold blustery wind came in along with him.

"JUUZOU! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Raidon shouted, yes she actually raised her voice which took her aback but didn't faze her roommate, as she became aware of the icy wind licking at her skin.

"You can't ever hide candy from _me_ , Silly!" He exclaimed as he reached for the nearly empty bag of sweets next to Raidon, who grabbed it up before he could as she sat up and scooted to the farthest part of the bed.

"You didn't have to break the window." She stated as her regular bland tone returned, Juuzou pouted.

"I did too! Look you've eaten almost all of it! Piglet!" He exclaimed, and Raidon took the time to look into the small bag only to find there was just one piece left.

"Boys who break windows don't get candy!" She exclaimed as she removed the final piece, then a struggle ensued as each of the investigators fought over the treat. Ultimately Raidon was successful in unwrapping, and placing the treat in her mouth, Juuzou's jaw dropped open in utter disbelief.

"Raidon-chan!" He whined pitifully.

"Ha-ha!" She mocked, as she'd once again lost her monotone, when she noticed that a frown settled onto her face as she began to wonder why she was acting so strangely.

Raidon found herself being pushed against a wall in the time when her thoughts had consumed her, Juuzou was quick enough to pin her there temporarily, while gripping her face, placing enough pressure on her jaw to force it open, and then his mouth met hers and she froze for a long moment as she was once again thrown off by the albino, whose tongue roamed her mouth only to find the candy she'd stored inside and take it for himself before moving away from her with a giggle.

"Seriously?" She questioned her monotone returning naturally, her face dusted pink, as she realized she'd been bested. "You went _that far_ just for some stupid candy?" Juuzou flashed her a triumphant smile as he nodded.

"But I wouldn't say I went _too_ far." He commented, and Raidon raised a brow as she gestured to the broken glass which littered the bedroom floor. A cold wind came whipping through the window, blowing snow flurries inside with it and Raidon shivered uncontrollably.

"F-fix it!" She exclaimed as her teeth chattered, needless to say she was quick to leave the freezing room.

Raidon went into the living room, grabbing a nearby quilt to shake the sudden chills she'd gotten. She plopped down on the couch, pulling her knees close as she wrapped herself in the warmth of the quilt, Kin came to her side in order to enjoy the warmth as well. As she sat there petting the kitten who lay curled up beside her, Raidons fingers touched her lips as she realized that Juuzou had stolen her first kiss, and over something as stupid as candy no less.

Meanwhile the white haired male stood in the cold bedroom enjoying the caramel candy he'd stolen from Raidon, then he began wondering what he was supposed to do about a broken window, it wasn't like he was good at fixing things, breaking things he could do, fixing? Not so much. He got an idea as he retrieved a cellphone from his pockets and dialed a familiar number.

"Shinohara-san~ good evening!" He greeted, "there's been a bit of an accident!" Juuzou said with a chuckle as he began to explain.

Shinohara sighed hopelessly as he sat in the living room of his underlings, who both inhabited the couch. He wasn't exactly sure how the two kept getting into such strange situations, but he knew he shouldn't be surprised by it. He observed Raidon who was wrapped up in a quilt, and sitting with her knees pulled to her chest. Due to the repair men coming in and out of the apartment the front door had been opened and closed frequently leaving the apartment feeling a bit chilly.

"Raidon? Are you alright?" Shinohara questioned in concern, "you look like your shaking." It wasn't very noticeable but he felt the need to comment on it anyway.

Raidon didn't respond at all, Juuzou leaned over her to pet Gin and Raidon huffed before standing and leaving the living area. She silently planned on taking a hot bath as she hoped it would knock the chill from her bones, she then left her two partners.

"What's the matter with her?" Shinohara questioned, as he watched Juuzou take Gin into his arms.

"Huh? She's always like that riiight~?" Juuzou tilted his head as he began to pet the kitten who purred lightly, Shinohara looked in the direction Raidon had disappeared in.

"Well, I guess so… But she seems different somehow." He turned back to Juuzou, "did something happen between you two? I mean besides you breaking the window and freezing her to death." Juuzou blinked a few times as he began to think back on it.

"Um, she wouldn't share any of the candy she bought!" He exclaimed, "but that was something that upset _me_ , that is until I got a piece~!" He giggled at that.

"I see, is that it then?"

"Hmm… Ah! Wait, she _did_ get really quiet after I got the candy from her!"

"What do you mean? Raidon isn't the type to get angry over something like candy."

"Ah, that's right. When we were fighting over it though she ate it! And so I had to get it out of her mouth!" Juuzou explained with a smile, and Shinohara lurched forward.

" _Juuzou_!" He scolded, "you can't just stick your hand into someone's mouth just to get some candy!" The white haired investigator creased his brows as a frown came on his face.

"But I didn't do that! I got it out with my tongue!" He defended and then Shinohara went pale... He didn't. Need. To hear that. From Juuzou. _Ever_.

"Okay! That's enough detail!" Shinohara exclaimed in sudden discomfort. "That also explains why she'd be acting more distantly than she usually does." He said as he shifted gears slightly.

"Huh? How come?" Juuzou questioned with another tilt of his head.

"…Well… Girls don't like it when you do something like that unwarrantedly," he said slowly.

"But it _was_ warranted, she _ate_ the _last piece of candy_!" Juuzou cried as he struggled to understand how getting candy from such a Piglet wasn't warranted to Shinohara.

"I mean… Ugh… Usually things like that are done between people who're in a relationship." Juuzou made a face.

"Only people in a relationship can fight over candy?" That _definitely_ didn't make sense.

"No, no, I meant… Kissing, usually only couples do that. You probably invaded her space."

"Eh? What's the big deal?! It was just a kiss right? It didn't mean anything, other than I wanted the candy!" He crossed his arms. "Oh, wait can you still call it a kiss if my tongue was in her mouth?" The question made Shinohara groan, it was always so hard to tell what Juuzou did and didn't know about.

"Juuzou… Its-it's not like-ugh-I mean to say…" He sighed, "do you remember not long ago a woman came by headquarters wanting an interview and she was all over you?" Juuzou found himself frowning deeply. He did remember, that lady was sitting way to close and always wanted to touch his stitches.

"I didn't like it," Juuzou confirmed, "she made me uncomfortable."

"Well that's probably how Raidon feels about the kiss. I think you should apologize."

Juuzou's orbs moved down to Gin who looked up at him with its large blue pools. Juuzou really didn't like the way that weird lady had treated him, but he wasn't so sure about apologizing to Raidon. Actually, he _was_ sure, he was sure that he wouldn't apologize to her at all.

Once the window was fixed and the thermostat was on its highest setting, allowing heat to blast from the air ducts, the repair men and Shinohara left the apartment complex leaving Juuzou alone in the living room. He stood from the couch and approached the bathroom, knocking on the door three times.

"Raidon-chan~ everyone's gone now~" He sang, he waited for a response but was only left in silence. "…Raidon-chan?" Still no response. Blinking twice the investigator took hold of the doorknob and opened it a little, poking his head inside the bathroom.

"Don't come in here." A bottle of shampoo was thrown at Juuzou who was quick to duck out of the way.

"Well what was I supposed to do? You didn't answer me!" He giggled as he entered the room fully. Raidon frowned at him from the bath tub, she was sitting on its edge as she had been watching the water drain, wrapped up in a thick towel.

"It's rude for a guy to come in when a woman's bathing." She stated with a certain air of roboticness, she didn't appear to care much about him seeing her.

"You're not bathing though!" He exclaimed.

"Details, details, don't bother me with the details." She stated with a wave of her hand and Juuzou leaned against the wall nearest to the door.

"Anyway~!" He began, "Shinohara-san said that you're mad at me for kissing you earlier, is that true?" The tone of his voice held a level of enjoyment, mainly because he'd been able to annoy her so well.

"Why would I be mad over that? I didn't appreciate that you out witted me, or that you stole my first kiss but it didn't make me angry. If I was acting weird it's because of how cold I was."

"That's what I thought- wait!" Juuzou swayed toward her, " _I_ was your first kiss?!" He questioned with a grin.

"Get out of my face Albino Boy!"

"I was!" He laughed, "that's so cute! I was your fiiirst kiiiiss~ I was your fiiirst kiiiiiss~!" He sang as he bounced around childishly, Raidon stood.

"Hey, shut up for a second alright?" She turned to him and he stopped dead as he had been expecting her to insult him. "I wanna test something out." She stated as she approached him normally.

"Eh? What're you wanting to tes-" Just as normally as she'd approached him, she leaned up just a bit and put her lips against his causing him to step back due to how close she was, she simply stepped forward her lips never leaving his. Juuzou's back met the wall and he blinked a few times as he was confused by the situation at hand.

Her lips were unexpectedly soft against his own, Raidons hands softly glided to his shoulders as he stood with his body pushed against bother hers and the wall. He wasn't sure why she was doing such a thing but he found his body moving on its own, as he lidded his eyes and returned the gesture, that kiss was much more innocent than the one before, not to mention dripping in sweetness. Then just as suddenly as she'd initiated the kiss she broke it, taking a few steps back from him as Juuzou actually found himself being reluctant to have it end.

"Wha… What sort of test was that?" He questioned quietly as he was feeling quite stunned by the event.

"I felt something strange whenever you kissed me the first time, even though it was only to get that stupid candy. I was wondering if it was because of the cold air or if it was from the kiss, the only way I could find out was if I kissed you so I did."

"Weeeellll?" Juuzou questioned a small grin tugging on his lips, "what was the strange feeling you had then?" She crossed her arms over her chest.

"Tsk, as if I'd tell you. But I _will_ say that I discovered something _else_ from it." She gave him a sly smirk, "you liked it."

"Uwaaaah!" He cried, "have I been found out so quickly?"

"Don't act like it wasn't obvious." She said as she moved by him, "I'm gonna go get dressed."

The truth was that the strange feeling she had was definitely not the cold air, but then what was it? Why did she find herself smiling as she thought on the kiss? And why did she want to do it again? She closed the bedroom door behind her, leaning on it as she raised her head to the ceiling.

"Not good… Not good at all." She mumbled to herself, she was becoming soft, she could tell by the way she'd been emoting lately. She couldn't allow it, _wouldn't_ allow it! If she started to feel like she had before then… It just couldn't happen! She had to fix herself, force herself to go back to being numb, it was the only way to protect herself, the only person worth protecting.

Meanwhile, Juuzou still stood in the bathroom, his fingers raised to his lips as he smiled at what had just taken place. He wasn't sure why exactly but he wanted to kiss her again, and Juuzou always did his best to get what he wanted.


	4. Chapter 4

Living for… Herself… Only…

A/N: I'm sorry but for whatever reason the documents I upload seem to want to translate themselves into code, so I had to reupload this document. If this problem happens again don't hesitate to contact me!

She was reverting back to her old self and it was all Juuzou's fault! She spent so much painful time trying to get rid of the real her and he was ruining it! She bit her lip until blood ran down her chin as she thought on the situation at hand. What should she do? There was no way Shinohara would let her switch roommates, not since he'd silently dubbed her his new 'project' but there _had_ to be something she could do.

Raidon felt hot breath on her face and her eyes snapped open to find Juuzou inches away from her and leaning closer. She was still for a long moment until the situation sunk in and she placed a hand on Juuzou's face and shoved him as hard as she could, causing the young investigator to fall off the mattress with a thud.

"What's with you all of a sudden?" He questioned with a giggle as he rested his chin on the mattress, looking up at her curiously.

"You were too close to me, Stupid Albino." She said as she crossed her arms, Juuzou tilted his head as a pout formed on his lips.

"Ne, ne, you didn't mind it earlier when you kissed me!" She forced her usual stoic expression as she gazed down on him.

"I told you it was only a test, don't go catching feelings." She said coldly, and Juuzou's head perked up.

"Eh? You can catch feelings?!" He questioned in complete shock, and Raidon face palmed.

"It's just an expression, Genius."

"Ne, what'd you do to your lip?" He questioned as he crawled back onto the bed.

"What do you care?" She wiped at the blood running on her chin, her bracelets charms clinging together as she moved, and Juuzou leaned toward her again.

"I care because your lips might not be so soft now!" He exclaimed innocently and Raidon knocked him to the floor again.

"Don't get close to me!" She ordered sternly as she rose from their bed and approached the door. Just as she passed him he grabbed her ankle.

"Wait a second! Where're you going? It's bedtime!" He cried she frowned down on him.

"I'm sleeping on the couch," she yanked her ankle out of his grasp, "you stay away from me." She left their room, closing the door behind her quietly.

Juuzou felt his shoulders slump as he wondered what had gotten into his roommate so suddenly, and why she wouldn't let him kiss her again.

Raidon pulled a cover up to her nose as she curled up on the plush sofa, she wouldn't let that boy get to her any more. Something warm curled up next to her, she looked down to find Kin laying in a ball ready to sleep, and that was another thing she couldn't let get to her.

 _Knock-knock-knock-knock._ The door opened and Juuzou watched as Raidon entered, still stoney-faced.

"Oh-ho! Are you gonna sleep in here after all?" He questioned hopefully, Raidon merely lifted her hand and Juuzou saw that she roughly held Gin by the nape of its neck.

"Keep this thing in here." She ordered and then she tossed the cat onto the mattress as though it meant absolutely nothing to her.

"Wa!" Juuzou cried as the cat shook its head to shake the feeling of having its nape pulled on so harshly, "you didn't have to throw Gin like that! You're so Cruel!" His tone was care-free as was his expression, but he really did mean what he said.

"Whatever, just keep it away from me." She left he and Gin alone. Juuzou looked down to the cat who tilted its head to one side as if to ask: 'what's up with her?'

"Saa, I wonder…" Juuzou said as he flopped back onto the mattress which really was too large for just one person.

Shinohara noticed a significant back step in Raidon's progress, it appeared that she'd gone beyond her old anti-social behavior as she hadn't acknowledged anyone who'd spoken to her at work that day. Even on the trio's regular outing she didn't make a peep, she didn't even speak to the waiter when he asked for her order, and so she didn't eat either.

"Raidon?" Shinohara questioned in an attempt to get her attention, she simply continued to gaze out the window as she ignored him completely. Shinohara leaned over to Juuzou, who was enjoying a sandwich, and began to whisper to his young partner. "What's the matter with Raidon? She was like this when I saw her last night too. Did you apologized like I told you to?"

"I din't apowagish." Juuzou spoke with a mouth full of sandwich, once he chewed and swallowed he continued. "She said she wasn't mad about it." Shinohara's face fell, his junior was so naïve.

"Listen, Juuzou, whenever a woman _say's_ she's not mad about something she never really _means_ that she's not mad about it. She's pretty much just trying to make you think she's over it so that way she can throw it in your face whenever another argument happens." Juuzou blinked.

"Whhaaaat? Really? Why?"

"Who knows? Women are terrifying creatures." Juuzou jumped at that statement.

"Even more terrifying than ghouls?!"

"Oh, hands down."

"Uwaaaaah!" Juuzou cried as he began to stare at Raidon, who appeared completely disconnected from the entire world. "Oh, but wait… That can't be it though!" Juuzou turned back to Shinohara. "I really don't think she's mad about that."

"Hm? Why's that?" Shinohara crossed his arms as he gave Juuzou a look, "did you do something else?" He questioned accusingly.

"No! After everyone left last night, _she_ kissed _me_!" Shinohara lurched toward him.

" _What_?! Then in that case it could've been any number of things…" He mumbled.

"Like what?" Juuzou questioned.

"Erm, well…"

"Rai-Rai?" An unfamiliar voice called, both Shinohara and Juuzou watched as Raidon's eyes widened before she turned away from the window. "Rai-Rai! So it _is_ you!" A young man, who sported a diagonal scar which traveled from the top of his forehead to just under his chin, exclaimed and his large brown eyes began to well up a bit, "I'm so glad to see you again!"

"… Kubota… Senpai…" Raidon breathed as her expression faded back into its stoic mask. Shinohara smiled as he was relieved to finally hear Raidon speak again! He looked to Juuzou, expecting his usual grin to have widened at the moment, but was surprised to see that the white haired investigator was frowning deeply.

"Rai-Rai, it's been too long!" Kubota exclaimed as Raidon actually stood from her seat and approached him, he took both her hands into his own and smiled happily. "I haven't seen you since you moved away four years ago, how've you been?"

"…Fine." Kubota smiled down to her in an almost sad way, then Juuzou popped up between the two.

"Ehhhh?" Juuzou cried as he pulled Raidon's hands out of Kubota's, "who's this, Raidon-chan?" He questioned curiously as he smiled up to the guy.

"O-oh, excuse me," he said as he looked from Juuzou to Shinohara, "I'm Kento Kubota, Rai-Rai and I are childhood friends." He explained, and Juuzou felt an emotion that he couldn't quite understand.

Kubota ended up joining Raidon and her partners for lunch, when he noticed she hadn't ordered anything he ordered something for her. Extra spicy curry had always been her favorite after all. Raidon had come out of her quietness which had worried Shinohara so, but as he watched her he could see that she was desperately trying to revert back to ignoring everyone.

"Raidon," Shinohara decided to try something out, "where're you from originally?" Considering she hadn't made one rude remark since Kubota showed up, he thought it worth a shot, however, Raidon ignored the question as she had so many times before, Kubota nudged her.

"C'mon your superior asked you a question, it's rude to ignore him, answer will you?" She looked to Kubota then back to her curry.

"… Nagino." She answered and Juuzou's eyes narrowed at that. Why was this guy able to get answers from Raidon? What was _sooo_ special about him?

"Ah, I'm glad you answered me!" Shinohara exclaimed with a chuckle, "Would you mind telling me why you decided to become an investigator?" Raidon was silent for a long moment then she pushed her bowl of curry away from her.

"…I'm tired, I'm going home." She said as she pushed out her chair, and immediately went to the exit.

"Ah, hey wait a sec!" At the sound of Kubota's voice, she stopped at the door, "we should have lunch together sometime, okay?" Raidon nodded before leaving quickly, Juuzou was surprised to find himself growling lowly at her agreement.

"Hey, Kubota-kun," he turned to Shinohara, "do you mind answering some questions for me?"

Shinohara took the opportunity of Kubota's prescience to find out as much as he could on Raidon, mainly why she acted the way she did, and Kubota told him everything he knew about her without hesitation.

"I've known Rai-Rai for as long as I can remember, I was always a grade ahead of her, but our parents were friends so we actually saw a lot of each other." Kubota explained as he noticed Juuzou giving him a strange look. "When Raidon was going into her second year of high school, three men broken into her house while everyone was sleeping, they planned on robbing the place, but, Raidon's mother and father discovered the robbers and well, they ended up being shot and killed. By that point Raidon, and her three younger brothers came down stairs to see what the commotion was, her brothers ended up meeting the same fate as their parents. Raidon would've ended up dead too if the bullet she'd been shot with hadn't been only centimeters away from hitting her heart."

"… I see… I'm assuming that these robbers were human?" Shinohara questioned and Kubota nodded.

"Rai-Rai was absolutely heartbroken, she stayed with me and my family after that and I remember she used to cry every night. She ended up turning to her friends for emotional support and for a while she seemed to be getting better… But then things took another turn." He lowered his eyes before speaking again, "I'm sure you'll know the incident I'm about to speak of. That very same year, a high school in Nagino was attacked by a large group of ghouls." Shinohara stiffened a bit.

"I _do_ remember that," he had in fact worked that case. "over ninety students were murdered during the attack."

Kubota nodded. "Entire classes were slaughtered that day. I remember wondering if Rai-Rai had gotten out alright, I went to her classroom to see if she'd been one of the classes to successfully evacuate. When I got there, most everyone was dead and those who weren't certainly wished they were. Rai-Rai… Was being attacked by a masked ghoul, she was trying her best to fight it off with a chair, of course it wasn't going well for her… The last thing I remember is leaping in front of her whenever the ghoul was going to cut her down with his kagune." He pointed to his face, "that's how I got this scar." He lowered his eyes once again, "after that, Rai-Rai was in complete despair for weeks while she and I both recuperated in the hospital. She'd just witnessed everyone she'd ever loved die; her heart was broken. Then on the day that she was to be discharged, she came by my room and she was wearing an expression I'd never seen on her before, the one that I'm sure you two have seen her wear frequently."

"Hmm, come to think of it I can't remember a time when Raidon didn't have that stoic expression." Shinohara commented, and he noticed Juuzou lean forward onto the table as he kept his focus on Kubota.

"Yeah, it was really strange. Rai-Rai had always been so expressive, so when I saw her like that I knew that something inside her, something other than her heart, had shattered. Afterwards, Rai-Rai shut the world out completely, even me and my family which only seemed to cause her more pain. I confronted her about it one day, I remember telling her: 'you can't shut out the people who live with you, the people who care about you. We're here to help you.' After that she moved away from Nagino, I'm not sure where she went to, she never even told me she would be leaving. And I hadn't seen or heard from her in four years, until now that is." Kubota looked out the window, "Rai-Rai's such a selfish girl, she always has been. She thinks that by going through life numbly, by severing ties that she's made and by never making new ones, that she'll be able to protect herself." He looked back to the investigators, "do you understand now? She's trying to make sure her heart doesn't break again by freezing it into solid ice."

"…Yeah… I get it… And now I understand why she would never answer any of my questions, and why she never wanted a partner…" Shinohara raised his eyes to the scarred boy, "but she certainly seemed to soften up when she saw you again! You must mean a lot to her." Kubota sighed sadly at that.

"No, that's not the case. Not anymore at least… I could see it in her eyes earlier, she doesn't look at me the same anymore, it's like I'm a complete stranger to her. I believe the only reason why she softened was because of this," he brushed his fingers against the scar on his face, "I got this protecting her from that ghoul… She probably feels guilty about it, like she owes me something."

Shinohara had to admit that _did_ sound more likely than him meaning something special to her, but he couldn't voice that aloud for fear of hurting the boy's feelings.

"So then, you mean absolutely nothing to Raidon-chan huh? You're no better than a stranger to her!" Juuzou chirped with a grin, clearly he didn't care if he hurt Kubota's feelings or not.

After Kubota served his purpose of giving him the information he wanted, Juuzou was quick to take his leave and skip home quickly. He'd been so very angry whenever Kubota would talk to Raidon, even more so whenever Raidon would respond to him positively, something she hardly did with Juuzou. Hearing that he probably meant nothing to her eased his anger somewhat, but not completely.

Entering the apartment, Juuzou noticed that Raidon and Gin were nowhere in the living room, he was quick to go into the bedroom where he saw the comforter all bunched up around a curled up figure, he took a moment to assess their room as he realized that it looked emptier than usual. Juuzou was quick to peak under the covers, finding Raidon, wearing her headphones which a small beat of music could be heard from, holding Gin close to her as she stroked the sleeping kittens snowy fur. Juuzou joined his roommate under the comforter as he had before. Upon noticing Juuzou's prescience Raidon turned the music she'd been listening to off, he waited for her to say something to him, when that didn't happen he decided to break the silence.

"Raidon-chan~" He whispered, Raidon raised her dull eyes to look at him, "about Kubota-kun." His voice went low as he continued, "I didn't like it when you talked to him today. You should stay away from him, you're mine." This made Raidon narrow her eyes.

"I would've never guessed someone as stupid as you could feel jealousy." She stated, and Juuzou put his finger to his chin.

"Eh? Jealousy? Is that what that feeling in the pit of my stomach was?"

"Probably. By the way, not that it's any of your damn business, but I wasn't planning on seeing him again." She looked back to Kin, who was sound asleep next to her.

"That's a lie~!" Juuzou sang, "you said you'd meet him for lunch sometime!"

"It's only because I didn't wanna hurt his feelings." That statement caused Juuzou's eyebrow to twitch and his smile to falter.

"Since when do you care about hurting people's feelings?" He questioned lowly.

"Since when am I your property?" She shot back, and he pulled his face closer to hers.

"Since the day I decided you were!"

"Possessive Albino Freak!" Juuzou suddenly grabbed Raidon and pulled her into his embrace, keeping a tight grip around her shoulders.

"You can call me whatever you want, I don't care. So long as you don't leave me like you did that guy. Promise me that."

"I'm not promising anything to you. I'm not yours. I'm not your friend, your partner, I'm nothing to you, and your nothing to me. So I suggest you get whatever fantasy you've thought up out of your mind, because it's not gonna happen." Raidon could feel Juuzou's smirk as he tilted his head down slightly so it was just above her ear.

"If all that's true then why're you holding me so tightly?" Raidon realized that she had in fact returned Juuzou's embrace and her hands were gripping the back of his shirt tightly, she told herself that wasn't the right thing to be doing, told herself to push away from him right then and to completely destroy the still forming bond between them. But another part of her, the real part of her, hadn't felt friendship, or love in so long and she hadn't realized how lonely it had made her, she rested her forehead against his collar bone for a moment, allowing herself that amount of comfort before shoving him away with so much force that both investigators ended up on opposite sides of the bed. Raidon sat up, tossing the cover aside as she did so, she noticed Kin sit up in the center of the bed as it shook its head before scratching behind its ear, then she saw Juuzou grinning at her and she narrowed her eyes as she forced herself to speak.

"I'm moving out." Juuzou's grin disappeared immediately and he leaned toward her.

"What?! But you can't do that! It's an order that we're roomed together like this!" She stood and went to the door, her usually exaggerated steps taking a much stiffer appearance, ready to leave right then as she felt something in her chest start to ache. "If you do then you'll be transferred!" Juuzou exclaimed, in the hopes that it would change her mind.

"…Actually, that's why I'm moving." Juuzou felt his eyes widen a bit, "I requested to be relocated today, I'll be leaving Tokyo at the end of the week." Everything was quiet for a long moment and she silently hoped that Juuzou wouldn't say anything.

"Bu... But…. That's…. That's not fair!" He cried, "why would you do that for?! You didn't want to be transferred again remember? You hated the idea of moving again right?!" She heard his feet hit the hardwood.

"That's true, but now I think it's the best option for me." She opened the door and had just stepped over the threshold when:

"You're such a coward." She had never heard Juuzou sound so solemn before, she turned to him questioningly and he glared at her. "You're running away, just because you're afraid of getting hurt like you did when your friends died." His statement caught her off guard, and left her a bit stunned, she guessed Kubota blabbed about her past.

"Saying stuff like that won't change the fact that I'm still leaving." She stated as she turned away and then she felt arms wrap around her waist, Juuzou's forehead rested on her shoulder.

"Don't go." He pleaded, "I don't want, to be alone again." She was breaking his heart, she could tell by his tone, Raidon truly wanted to tell him that she would stay, but, the deed had already been done. She'd made up her mind the night before, she needn't look out for anyone other than herself, no one else mattered. She'd repeated those words over and over again as Juuzou held her closely but, they were just words then she didn't mean them anymore.

"It's best to be alone. You won't ever get hurt that way." She felt him lift his head, "I mean look at what's happening, you were fine until I came along right? Now I'm leaving you and you're a wreck over it."

"That's not true." He said as he turned Raidon to face him, he was quick to wrap her in his arms again, and he kept his tight grip on her even as they both sank to floor, Raidon sitting between his legs, her arms by her sides. "I wasn't fine before you came along, and I didn't… I didn't know it until after you got here. I don't know why but I really want you to stay." She couldn't take hearing his tone any longer, not with how utterly crushed he sounded, so Raidon reached into the pocket of her skirt and turned up the music she'd been listening to earlier.

"I'm not staying." He tightened his hold on her.

"Don't tell me that." She couldn't hear his words, but she was pulled so close to him that she could feel the vibrations of his vocals cords as he spoke.

"I've already got all my things together."

"Raidon-chan, don't leave me by myself."

"Marude arranged for me to stay elsewhere until my relocation."

"Don't tell me that!" He repeated.

"I'm leaving and nothing you can say will stop me."

"Don't…" He felt his grip loosen on her, "don't tell me that." She pulled away from him and turned on her heel, leaving the white haired investigator on the floor by himself, she didn't even offer him a goodbye as she walked out of the apartment.


	5. Chapter 5

Worth Fighting For…

Juuzou… Juuzou wasn't the only one who was suffering due to Raidon's departure. When Raidon closed the door to their apartment, she shut off the music completely, went down the hall, and rounded a corner she found herself collapsing against the wall, clutching the fabric of her leather jacket over her heart and she doubled over in actual pain.

"What… What am I doing?" She began to question herself, "I-I'm breaking… My… My hearts tearing apart." She lowered her head even further, "it's ripping in two…" She hadn't felt pain like that in years, not since her family abandoned her, not since her friends deserted her, not since she left Kubota behind, that's what death was to her abandonment. What was she doing? She was trying to protect herself from being hurt so… Why was it backfiring? She had to remind herself, that in the long run the pain she felt then would be less horrible than the pain of being abandoned once again. She had to push through it like she did before, make herself not feel anything again. She took a long breath as she kept repeating that to herself over and over again, eventually the pain dulled enough for her to stand. Soon that pain would numb into nothingness and she would be the self that she had been for the past four years, the self that she was before she met Juuzou Suzuya.

Juuzou stayed seated where Raidon had left him, his head down staring at the floor, his mind a blank as his body tried to process that Raidon had really left. Something rubbed against his leg and Gin stepped into view and meowed up to him, he then slumped against the door frame and gritted his teeth. He was really alone then wasn't he?

Shinohara had never seen Juuzou so… Depressed before, actually he had never once seen the white haired investigator be anything other than bubbly. Raidon leaving was taking a harsh toll on Juuzou… But what could Shinohara do to fix it? Certainly the news he was about to give him would do nothing for the poor boys' mood.

The CCG was going to conduct a raid on a coffee shop called Antieku, Juuzou looked forward to it. He always seemed to enjoy himself most when he was killing ghouls, and at that moment enjoyment was precisely what he needed.

Raidon hadn't yet left the CCG's Tokyo branch, she still had five day's left there when she was told about the raid on Antieku. She didn't look forward to it all, then again she didn't look forward to much of anything at the time, which was exactly how it should be. But… Then again… She'd been thinking a lot in the two day's that she'd spent apart from Juuzou, whom she would still see often since they were still technically partners, she would think about him, herself, her choices and a thought occurred about the self that she'd left Juuzou to continue being. If it was that difficult for her to be the self which she thought was the best self for her to be, would she still be her? Was that self truly what was best? If so, then why was it so hard to continue being that self?

In the CCG's refectory Shinohara sat before Raidon, it was just the two of them Shinohara didn't want to make her or Juuzou uncomfortable considering recent events, he'd told her to write a testamentary note that it was a requirement and such. Raidon was silent for a long time.

"I don't know what I'm supposed to write…" She said slowly as she was contemplating something.

"Well… How about a thank you to all your comrades? It's not much but it's a start." Shinohara suggested, slowly as he looked on Raidon whose head had been lowered the entire time he'd been speaking to her, that day her vibe was very different from its usual feel, he could tell that she was just as upset as Juuzou over what she'd done.

"Shinohara." He blinked as she spoke his name and her head raised slightly.

"Yes?"

"I…" She trailed off and was quiet for a long moment, Shinohara wondered if she would ever continue speaking when she turned to look out a nearby window, "I… I'm… I'm not sure if I can still call who I am me." She said, Shinohara leaned back in his chair as he realized Raidon was finally opening up to him. "I… Think I know what's best for me. But then, when I do what I think is best… My heart starts to hurt so badly that I think that it might shred into pieces. What I think is best, who I think I should be is best, and it always has been until now. So why is it that I suddenly feel like I'm looking at life through someone else's eyes?" Shinohara was quiet for a long moment as he thought on her words, her problems and thoughts were far more complex than Juuzou's but then again females usually were the more complex of the human race.

"Raidon, something you need to understand about life is: perspective can change, more than that, if your perspective changes then it's safe to say that your entire being changes with it, your personality, your morals, it can all change so suddenly that sometimes we don't realize it until we do or feel something that's out of character. Do you understand?"

"…You think my perspective's changed how I view the value of life, life other than my own. Is that right?" Shinohara smiled at that, she was good at reading between the lines which made the conversation easier for Shinohara.

"Raidon, listen to me carefully. The reason why you're hurting so much, the reason why you're so confused about your identity, is because your outlook on life has changed big time, and you've changed along with it. You're just not letting yourself adapt to your new view, not letting yourself look from this brand new angle that you've created. You're trying to revert back to how you used to be, but your inner self doesn't agree with it, which is why you started hurting so much whenever you decided to leave Juuzou." Shinohara leaned forward as he looked on her with sympathy, "you're screaming on the inside, Raidon, all you have to do is listen to yourself." She lowered her eyes.

"…All I have to do… Is listen…" She repeated.

It was night time, snow was flurrying down lightly, however, it fell in such bulk that it appeared as though it would accumulate quickly. Raidon watched as her breath came out as steam, she shivered silently in the freezing night air why couldn't the uniforms have been warmer? She looked up at the glassy sky above her as she thought on her talk with Shinohara. Raidon had thought that listening to herself, figuring out what this new perspective she had was, would be difficult but it was surprisingly easy.

She had spent the past years lonely and lost inside herself, and she didn't even know it until then. She had been desperate for so long to form a bond with someone, and she realized that all the people whom had approached her over the previous years had seen that which she had failed to see, her old partner had surely seen it too and what did she do in return for him trying to fill a void which she hadn't known was there? She'd let him get killed, along with all the other comrades she'd deemed annoying or nosy… Her comrades blood may not have been spilled directly by her hands, but that didn't mean it wasn't her fault. She was sick with sin, not only that, but with guilt as well, guilt which had come far too late. She was disappointed in the life she'd been living, indirectly wallowing in self-pity everyday while claiming to be powerful, Juuzou had been right she was a coward.

"Is there… Will there ever be an end to what I'm feeling deep inside?" She questioned to herself, retribution was what she needed, and so help her she would get it that night. "Investigator Takizawa…" She approached the taller male from behind, he turned and frowned upon seeing her.

"What is it now?" He questioned with a growl, Raidon only smiled at that.

"I just wanted… To apologize for the way, I spoke to you not long ago… You had… You had nothing but good intentions toward me and I was unnecessarily cruel to you, for that I'm truly sorry." Seido was genuinely surprised at her words, he began to wonder why she was acting so strangely was it because they were about to fight a war?

"I… I forgive you." He said as he squared his jaw, it wasn't the time to hold a grudge over something so petty, not when everyone's life was at risk.

Her retribution had begun, she wondered how far it would take her as the war finally began.

The Owl had appeared, speaking of the sins and evils which lied within both humanity and ghouls, Raidon had no arguments against the old ghoul's preaching's. She'd known for too long that there was no such thing as black and white when it came to humanity or ghouls for that matter.

She came to stand before the Owl, Shinohara, and Juuzou, along with the rest of their squad, backing her. She released her quinque from its confines, a beautifully curved, ultramarine-colored, thickly made katana held firmly in her hands as she felt her expression harden.

"So, you're the first to confront me, Little Girl." The old man sounded almost fatherly when he spoke to her, "it's such a shame to have to go against someone so young."

"I liked what you said earlier." She called out in response, catching the ghoul by surprise. "About the evils and sins that life forces on us. I'll be sure to keep those words in mind for as long as I live." Raidon didn't know why she felt the need to tell him such a thing, didn't know what purpose it would serve, but she felt that it had to be said.

"Well then," she could hear the smile in the old man's voice, "I'm glad to know that I had one final positive impact on a young person's life." Raidon then realized that he wasn't expecting to escape alive, he must have made peace with the idea of dying by the hands of CCG investigators, good.

Coordinated attacks weren't Juuzou's specialty, nor was it Raidon's, but in the moment when the two teens battled against the monstrous Owl it wasn't apparent, as one attacked directly after the other in a timely fashion. The two teen's teammates could hardly get in a good hit with the two coming at the Owl so hard, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing considering their tactic was working.

Panting, their breaths appearing before them as they did so, their bodies hot as their blood pumped adrenaline throughout their veins, the group of investigators watched as the Owl fell to the ground. Defeated by the CCG. Soon the cheering of soldiers rang throughout the city as they rejoiced over the wicked Owls demise.

"Raidon-chan." She turned as Juuzou approached her with an unreadable expression. She was quiet for a moment as she looked on him, she decided that she should lead with an apology but then she wondered where she would go from there. Just as she was about to speak something caught her eye. What appeared to be a crimson-colored falling star went shooting through the grey snow-filled sky. Raidon squinted at the object and realized that, not only was it not a falling star, it was coming straight for them! Raidon was quick to grab Juuzou and toss him aside.

"Move!"

BAM!

A much larger, much more intimidating ghoul crash landed just meters behind her, she was caught up in the smoke and debris, temporarily blinded by the commotion but long enough for the new foe to send Raidon flying across the rooftop and into a nearby wall. When she hit she saw stars for a moment before falling to the ground and losing consciousness.

Her vision faded back slowly as she attempted to blink the blurriness away, her glasses were cracked, her head was bleeding she could feel the thick liquid running down her face, as she sat upright. A monstrous roar caused her to flinch before raising her dazed head and looking on another Owl, which stood before Juuzou who sat staring up at the creature. Raidon had only just gotten to her feet when the Owl attacked Juuzou, blood flew in the cold winter air and she froze as she watched Shinohara shield Juuzou from harm.

"Shinohara…" She breathed the mans' name as she watched Juuzou reach out to their partner, only to have him fall before the boy. Juuzou was stunned, Raidon couldn't blame him, Shinohara was one of the only people who truly mattered to Juuzou, but Raidon had seen many-a comrade fall in battle and as she saw the Owl preparing for another attack she pushed Shinohara's fall aside and charged in as she leapt forward and pushed Juuzou out of the way of the ghoul's attack, taking the hit for him instead.

She hit the concrete, feeling a few ribs break from the impact of both the hit and the fall, Shinohara was still in danger. She looked to her other comrades for assistance only to find that they were all incapacitated. Something caught her eye, it was Juuzou darting toward the owl, who was prepared to deliver the final blow to Shinohara's unmoving form.

"Juuzou stop!" Raidon shouted as she could tell that the white haired boy wouldn't be able to block such a powerful hit, her voice caused him to hesitate in his sprint ultimately resulting in his tripping over his own feet and falling to the ground before reaching the Owl, who then pierced Shinohara through his back.

Raidon finally got to her feet, her ribs crying out as she did so, and hurried over to Juuzou who sat staring at the scene before him. Raidon came to kneel beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder as he did so, he looked over to her and when he did she watched as he became hysterical. Juuzou let out a wail so full of agony and sorrow that Raidon felt she might cry just from hearing it, but then wasn't the time for such things, once his agonized scream ended she turned him toward her and gave him a harsh shake.

"Snape out of it!" She ordered sternly, "you'll have time to mourn him later, right now we've got a job to do." Juuzou stared at her for a long moment, his eyes still moist then his delicate features hardened as he stood alongside her saying nothing as he did so.

Attacking together, the two were still no match for the Owl, Raidon realized this as she rolled to avoid one of its attacks. The best course of action at that point would've been retreat, but that wasn't really an option then was it?

It was going for Juuzou again, and once again Raidon put herself between the Owl and her partner, taking the bulk of the hit as the both of them were swatted away from the ghoul. The two landed just before the gate which lined the rooftops perimeter, Raidon strewn across Juuzou's legs as he sat up, he scanned her quickly taking in the blood that ran down her face, the awkward angle her bent, her ragged breaths.

"Why do you keep doing that?!" Juuzou questioned in both concern and irritation, "stay out of my way!" Raidon, got to her feet, using her sword to pull herself up.

"I'm doing this because… I found out, maybe some people… Are actually worth fighting for." She looked over her shoulder to him and gave him a smirk that he'd never seen on her before. "I lost it all, my dreams, my family, my friends, it all slipped away from me, and there was nothing I could do about it. I couldn't take the heartache, I decided if I didn't care about anyone but myself then I wouldn't have to worry about losing something like that again." She raised her head to the grey sky above, "but then I came here and you pulled me in Juuzou, and now… It's happened all over again, and amidst all of the suffering I realized that I was wrong to care only for myself, that's not what life's about. Life is about being there for someone else, caring for someone else, living for someone else." Juuzou could only stare at her as she spoke, the girl who stood before him was so different from the one he'd been faced with in the past, he wondered if she could possibly be the same person, he shook his head at that of course she was the same person, this was the person who laughed and smiled when it was just the two of them, she'd finally come out into the open. "Everyone's slipped away again," she continued, "and everyone's gone, everyone but you. I won't lose you. I won't let you die here; I'll make sure of it. If that means that I have to give my own life to do it, then so be it!"

She charged the Owl, and Juuzou scrambled to his feet as he went to follow after her. All that talk of giving her life for his sake, he couldn't let that happen, Shinohara had done just that and Juuzou didn't think he could take losing Raidon along with the older investigator.

Juuzou and Raidon were being toyed with by the Owl, who didn't take their attacks seriously at all as the ghoul continuously swatted them away as if they were pesky flies. Both investigators were badly injured, and still yet they both continued an on slot of weakening attacks, in a vain attempt to avenge their fallen partner. Juuzou witnessed Raidon take a hit to the stomach, that was the final time she was thrown to the ground, and that time she didn't get up again. Juuzou grunted as he pulled himself up with his scythe, he had to keep going, he couldn't stop… He couldn't… Everything faded and Juuzou fell.

She woke to the constant beeping of a heart monitor. She was in a hospital, her head throbbed as she leaned on one elbow, when she tried to move her other arm she realized that it was in a sling, and wrapped in a plaster cast. Once she sat up fully she struggled to remember what had happened exactly, ultimately she decided the less she remembered the better.

Raidon used the buttons on her hospital bed to call for a nurse, whom appeared much more quickly than Raidon had expected, the male-nurse smiled to her as he began to fiddle with the machines that surrounded her, and the IV in her arm as well.

"You've been sleeping for three days," the nurse explained softly, "your partners been worried sick about you, the poor little guy." Raidon smirked.

"So I'm guessing he's been up annoying all the staff then?" The man smiled sheepishly.

"Well… I wouldn't say annoying," Raidon tilted her head at the nurse while arching an eyebrow and then the man sighed, "yeah okay, annoying is the word to use."

Raidon's injuries weren't very sever, a broken arm, concussion, a few broken ribs, and a torn ligament in her ankle. Her state was thanks to her mainly focusing on avoiding the Owl's strikes, except for, of course, when she would save Juuzou from an attack.

Soon she hobbled down the hall, holding a crutch under the arm which she'd ripped the IV out of, in search of Juuzou's room. The male nurse didn't want her out of bed, of course when he left she snuck out and found a receptionist whom was happy to give her Juuzou's room number.

Hospitals were so damn confusing, it took her what felt like ages to find the Goof-Ball Investigator's room, but that was probably because of the sharp pains in rib cage and ankle which only intensified as she moved on.

The door was wide open, not to her surprise, she tottered over the threshold rather quickly as Juuzou's bed came into view, he appeared to be sleeping at the moment which was fine with Raidon, considering her head hurt too much to listen to him chatter… If he was even up for such a thing.

As she drew closer to Juuzou, she inspected his sleeping form. His bangs hung low in his face, his stitches had been removed, he looked peaceful, for once, and Raidon couldn't help but sigh as though he were a troublesome child whom had finally settled down and given her a break. She moved closer and saw a strange dip in the sheets, which covered him from the torso down, where his leg was. Raidon knitted her brows together as she realized that Juuzou's leg had been amputated at the knee. She lowered her eyes, even after she'd tried so hard to actually protect someone for once she failed.

"No use in feeling sorry about it," she said to herself, "what's done is done." But as she took the vacant seat near Juuzou's bed, she couldn't help but to feel a burning sadness in her stomach.

After thirty minutes of staying by her partner's side, the male nurse from before found her, he'd hurried into Juuzou's room, the look of panic fading on his face as he did so.

"Namikawa-san!" He scolded, she was quick to raise a finger to her lips and shush him as she didn't want him to wake Juuzou. "You're supposed to be in your room."

"And you're supposed to be… Okay so I don't know where you're supposed to be, I went into that thinking I would come up with something but I didn't…" She sighed. He urged her to return to her room, she refused as she explained to him that she'd made it there fine and that if it made him feel better she'd call on him when she was ready to go back. "I just wanna be here when this Troublemaker wakes up." Her voice was much softer than her words would imply, the male nurse stood glaring at her for long moment before his eyes softened.

"I understand; you want to be there for someone you love." Raidon felt herself pale.

"I-I wouldn't go so far as to say 'love'! Ju-just go do something else!" She shooed him off with a wave of her hand, and he smiled at her knowingly before exiting.

Raidon had sat quietly in her seat next to Juuzou's bed for nearly two hours then, she'd been straining to see the TV, for some reason her vision was incredibly unclear, to help pass the time and she was beginning to get bored; she had started to consider leaving when he began to stir.

He took a deep breath as his eyes fluttered open, his vision blurred as he turned his head, he squinted at the fuzzy silhouette next to him before his vision settled, once he realized it was Raidon who was next to him he shot upright quickly.

"Raidon-chan!" He exclaimed causing the uneven haired girl to jump as he shouted. "I almost didn't recognize you without your glasses and headphones!" Just then Raidon's hand shot up to her face as she felt the area where her glasses should've been. She'd been so busy trying to find Juuzou she had forgotten to put them on, Juuzou giggled at her reaction. "How silly, not even knowing you weren't wearing them!"

"Oh, be quiet!" She exclaimed then she sighed, "anyway it's about time you woke up, I was getting ready to leave." Juuzou grinned at that, and leaned toward her.

"But you didn't~" he cooed playfully. It was good that he was acting like his usual self, but at the same time it was quite off-putting, he'd just lost a limb after all so Raidon had expected him to be in mourning or something. As the thought of mourning crossed her mind she thought of Shinohara and looked to Juuzou with a frown.

"…Hey… What about… What about Shinohara?" As the question left her mouth Juuzou's shoulders slumped a little and he looked down, a sad smile taking place of his grin.

"He's in a coma, the doctors say he probably won't ever wake up."

Dead. Shinohara, was dead. Raidon looked on Juuzou with empathy, she knew what it was like to lose someone as important as what Shinohara was to Juuzou, change the subject, that's what she needed to do.

"We've been here for three days' right?" She questioned and Juuzou lifted his head again as he nodded. "Crap, no one's been around to take care of Kin!" She exclaimed quietly.

"Ah, no, no, I asked Mado-chan to look after Gin for us!" Raidon sighed in relief, she really did love that lazy little fur ball. "Your transfer's been delayed, due to the attack." His statement was a roundabout way of asking if she still planned to leave Tokyo.

"Good," Juuzou looked hopeful at that, "then there should be enough time for me to revoke it." She couldn't leave Juuzou, she'd done it once before, albeit in a temporary way, and it nearly ripped her heart in two; after all the happenings of the previous battle she couldn't leave him again. "But I suppose I can't keep staying at that hotel they put me up in, guess I'll have find some place else to live." Juuzou grinned.

"Oh stop beating around the bush!" He exclaimed, "just admit that you wanna live with me again!" Raidon felt her cheeks heat slightly.

"Wha-no! Why would I wanna live with you again?!" She didn't want to appear desperate to him, though she knew he wouldn't care much if she did.

"Because you missed me~!" She chuckled at that.

"Well it's not like you didn't miss me either!" She defended, and Juuzou shrugged.

"Ahh, that's true." He admitted, he gave her a bright grin and she felt her expression soften.

Raidon stood, ignoring her screaming rib cage and shifting all her weight to one foot as she did so. She bent toward Juuzou, her forehead lightly nudging his own, causing him to raise his chin a bit, she leaned in and just as her lips were centimeters away from his, her head dropped, falling to the bend of his neck close enough for her dirty blond locks to tickle his skin, with a light scoff.

"I don't know why you want me back after I was so cold to you." She said as she kept her head down.

"It's because that wasn't the same Raidon-chan who's standing here with me," she raised her head slightly at that, "the Raidon-chan who left, was the one I'd been introduced to months ago." It was a simple answer. "But not long after we moved in together, the real Raidon-chan showed up, and I liked her a lot better than the other one because the real Raidon-chan would never actually leave me."

So then, he'd known from the beginning that the person she was trying to be wasn't actually who she was; Raidon smiled a bit at that her eyes lowering as she did so, then she felt Juuzou's fingers brush the bottom of her jaw as he gently raised her chin, his lips met hers.

A long sweet kiss, soft and gentle, but still filled with the love and the knowledge that neither of the two planned to leave the other again. Raidon had finally found the self she was meant to be, and that self was someone who's reason for living wasn't one of greediness or egoism, but living for someone else, someone she cared so very deeply for that she would gladly throw her own life away.

A/N: thank you, Readers, for following this story to its end, reviews are appreciated, after all they'll only help me to become a better writer


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